Hinge and panel assembly for folding door

ABSTRACT

A hinged panel assembly for a folding door is provided. The side portions of each panel are formed to provide oppositely opening channels. The longitudinal hinge member is of thin, flexible material. It comprises a transverse spine or web section which extends externally across the channels of adjacent panels. The web section is integral with a pair of hook-shaped lip sections, each of which extends around the outer surface of the adjacent channel and extends back into the channel, in which it is retained. The hinge member opens easily to an unusually wide position, thereby reducing the number of panels needed for a predetermined width of opening. The wrap-around nature of the hinge prevents adjacent panels from bumping together noisely.

United States Patent 1 1 Runka 1 Sept. 30, 1975 1 HINGE AND PANELASSEMBLY'FOR FOLDING DOOR [76] Inventor: William Runka, 8706 StrathcarnDrive, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada [22] Filed: June 19, 1973 211 Appl.No.: 371,399

[52] US. Cl 160/231 A [51] Int. Cl. E0613 9/00 [58] Field of Search160/201, 229, 231 A; 16/150 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,441,975 5/1969 Shepherd 16/150 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS I632,219 5/1963 Belgium 160/231 A 337,754 3/1936 Italy 160/201 PrimaryE.\'nminerPhilip C. Kannan Attorney, Agent, or FirmErnest Peter Johnson1 1 ABSTRACT A hinged panel assembly for a folding door is provided. Theside portions of each panel are formed to provide oppositely openingchannels. The longitudinal hinge member is of thin, flexible material.It comprises a transverse spine or web section which extends externallyacross the channels of adjacent panels. The web section is integral witha pair of hook-shaped lip sections, each of which extends around theouter surface of the adjacent channel and extends back into the channel,in which it is retained. The hinge member opens easily to an unusuallywide position, thereby reducing the number of panels needed for apredetermined width of opening. The wrap-around nature of the hingeprevents adjacent panels from bumping together noisely.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Sapt. 30,1975 Sheet 1 of23,908,731

HINGE AND PANEL ASSEMBLY FOR FOLDING DOOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONchloride, having a bulbous bead formed along its side 1 edges. The beadsare slipped lengthwise into the channels of adjacent panels and arelocked in place by crimping the channel walls or inserting an expanderinto the bead at each end of the channel. The hinged panels are attachedto roller assemblies which run in tracks mounted in the door opening.The assembly can be opened from a stacked position, in which the panelsare parallel and crowded together, to an extended position, wherein thepanels adopt a zig zag formation across the door opening.

Those in the business of manufacturing folding doors are constantlylooking for ways to reducing the amount of materials used in making thedoor, so as to decrease its cost and thereby improve itscompetitiveness. It is one object of the present invention to provide ahinged panel assembly having an exceptionally flexible and wide openinghinge, whereby the assembly may be easily pulled to an almost flatposition and will remain in that position when the opening force isreleased. As a result, the number of panels, used to close an opening ofa particular width, may be reduced.

When the panels of a folding door are moved to the stacked position, themetal panels tend to bump to gether the operations of opening andclosing a folding door may fairly be described as being relativelynoisy. This aspect detracts from the sales appeal of the door. It istherefore another object of the invention to provide a hinged panelassembly adapted to keep the panels from contacting each other, therebyreducing the noise associated with opening or closing the door.

In some folding doors, the edges of the panels at their point ofconnection with the hinges are visible. These portions of the door areunsightly. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide ahinge and panel assembly in which the hinge is adapted to hide the edgesof the panels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, thelongitudinal edge portions of each panel are bent to form channelsextending outwardly from opposite sides of the panel. When assembled,the oppositely disposed channels of each pair of adjacent panels arepositioned next to each other. A hinge member engages each pair ofadjacent channels to connect the panels. The hinge member is formed of auniformly thick, relatively thin, flexible material, such as anextrusion of polyvinyl chloride.

surface of the adjacent channel and are bent back into the channelopening. A bead is formed along the longitudinal edge of each lipsection; the beads of each hinge member are disposed within the channelsof the adjacent panels and function to hold the hinge member in place.

When the assembled panels are pulled from the stacked position to anextended position, the lip sections rotate and open about their lines ofconnection with the web section. At the same time, the web sectionitself flexes about its longitudinal center line. The opening of thehinge is accomplished with relatively little pull. In addition, thehinge will remain open with the panels at an unusually wide angle; thepanels will remain stationary even when positioned at 15 fromhorizontal.

The hinged panel assembly is characterized by several advantages. First,the wide-angle opening of the hinge member results in a relatively smallnumber of panels being used to close an opening of predetermined width.The non-contractive nature of the hinge member makes it easy to pull theassembly to the extended position. Second, the wide externallypositioned web section of the hinge member masks the unsightly cracks ofthe panel-hinge junction and the edges of the panels. Third, the noisegenerating characteristic of the assembly is relatively mild, since thespacing apart of the panels by the web sections and the encasing of theouter surfaces of the channels in the material of the lip sectionssubstantially prevents the metal surfaces of the panels from contactingduring the opening and closing operations.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the hinged panel assembly inthevextended position;

FIG. 2 is a top view, in section, of the assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view, in section, of the assembly in the stackedposition; and

FIG. 4 is a blow-up top sectional view of a hinge member and the ends oftwo engaged panels.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The assembly comprises adjacentmetal panels 1 hinged together by the hinge members 2.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the longitudinal edge sections of each panel 1are bent to form a pair of channels 3, 4. These channels extend from thepanels main plane in opposite directions. Each channel 3, 4 comprises anend portion 5 and a bent-back portion 6.

Each hinge member 2 comprises a web section 7' and a pair of integral,hook-shaped lip sections 8. The web section is positioned transverselyand externally of the engaged panels 1. It extends across and past theadjacent channel end portions 5. Each lip section comprises a first leg9, extending substantially perpendicularly and inwardly from the websection 7, and a second leg 10 extending across the channel bent-backportion 6 and back into the adjacent channel. At its inner edge, the leg10 is thickened to provide the bead 11. The bead is of greater thicknessthan the width of the channel mouth 12, and thus the hinge member 2 islocked to the engaged panels la, 1b. The channel portion 6 can becrimped in on the bead to help fix the latter in place.

While not shown, the usual suspension hardware will be provided to mountthe assembly in an opening.

It will be noted that the hinge member 2 is formed of thin, flexiblematerial of substantially uniform thickness, except for the beads 11.Yet the web section 7 should be sufficiently rigid to hold the panels 1apart in the stacked position. One suitable material for use in makingthe hinge member is polyvinyl chloride.

In operation, when the panels are pulled from the stacked position, theadjacent panels la, lb rotate about the longitudinal center line 13 ofthe connected hinge member 2. As this rotation continues, the lipsections 8 turn and open with the panels about their connection lines 14with the web section 7, as illustrated by the sequence shown in FIGS. 3and 2.

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form andconstruction of the various parts of my hinged panel assembly may bemade and substituted for those herein shown and described, withoutdeparting from the spirit of invention, the scope of which is set forthin the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property ofprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a folding door comprising a plurality of rigid panelsinterconnected by longitudinal hinge members and adjustable betweenfully extended and stacked positions, the improvement comprising:

each said panel having its longitudinal edge portions bent to form apair of channels extending from opposite sides of the panel, eachlongitudinal edge forming a channel mouth with the body of the panel,

each said hinge member engaging one pair of adjacent, oppositelydisposed channels of one pair of adjacent panels, each of said channelsbeing on an outer side of said pair of adjacent panels when in saidstacked position;

said hinge member comprising, when viewed in cross section in thestacked position,

a web section positioned transversely and externally relative to saidpair of panels, said web section extending across and past the outeredges of the engaged channels,

a pair of substantially hook-shaped lip sections integral with the websection, each lip section extending around the outer surface of one ofthe engaged channels and back into the mouth of the engaged channel,

said lip section having an enlarged head retained in the engagedchannel;

said lip and web portions being of substantially uniform thickness andsufficiently flexible across their breadth whereby, when the engagedpanels are pulled to the fully extended position, the lip sections turnwith the panels and the web section bends along its longitudinalcenterline;

said web section being of sufficient width and rigidity whereby eachpair of adjacent panels are thereby maintained in spaced apart relationin the stacked position.

2. In a folding door comprising a plurality of rigid panelsinterconnected by longitudinal hinge members and adjustable betweenfully extended and stacked positions, the improvement comprising:

each said panel having its longitudinal edge sections bent to form apair of channels, said channels extending from the panel's main plane inopposite directions, each such channel having an end portion,substantially transverse to the panel main plane, and bent-back portionforming a channel mouth with the panels main plane;

each said hinge member engaging one pair of adjacent opposed channels ofone pair of adjacent panels, said hinge member comprising, when viewedin cross section in the stacked position,

a web section, positioned transversely relative to said pair of panelsand externally of the channel end portions, said web section extendingacross and past the channel end portions,

a pair of lip sections integral with the side edge portions of the websection, each lip section comprising an outer leg, extendingsubstantially perpendicularly from the web section, and an inner leg,extending across the adjacent bent-back portion of the channel andproximate the channel mouth, and

an enlarged head joined to and integral with said inner leg through saidchannel mouth the bead being retained in the channel;

said web section and legs being sufficiently flexible and ofsubstantially uniform thickness, whereby, when the panels are pulled tothe fully extended position, the legs turn with the adjacent panels andthe web section bends along its longitudinal centerline;

said web section being of sufficient width and rigidity whereby eachpair of adjacent panels are thereby maintained in spaced apart relationin the stacked position.

3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said hinge members are formed ofpolyvinyl chloride.

4. The improvement of claim 2, wherein said hinge members are formed ofpolyvinyl chloride.

5. The improvement of claim 2, wherein said bead member is shaped,having outer surfaces conforming to the portions of the panel formingsaid channels and said bead member substantially fills said channel.

1. In a folding door comprising a plurality of rigid panelsinterconnected by longitudinal hinge members and adjustable betweenfully extended and stacked positions, the improvement comprising: eachsaid panel having its longitudinal edge portions bent to form a pair ofchannels extending from opposite sides of the panel, each longitudinaledge forming a channel mouth with the body of the panel, each said hingemember engaging one pair of adjacent, oppositely disposed channels ofone pair of adjacent panels, each of said channels being on an outerside of said pair of adjacent panels when in said stacked position; saidhinge member comprising, when viewed in cross section in the stackedposition, a web section positioned transversely and externally relativeto said pair of panels, said web section extending across and past theouter edges of the engaged channels, a pair of substantially hook-shapedlip sections integral with the web section, each lip section extendingaround the outer surface of one of the engaged channels and back intothe mouth of the engaged channel, said lip section having an enlargedhead retained in the engaged channel; said lip and web portions being ofsubstantially uniform thickness and sufficiently flexible across theirbreadth whereby, when the engaged panels are pulled to the fullyextended position, the lip sections turn with the panels and the websection bends along its longitudinal centerline; said web section beingof sufficient width and rigidity whereby each pair of adjacent panelsare thereby maintained in spaced apart relation in the stacked position.2. In a folding door comprising a plurality of rigid panelsinterconnected by longitudinal hinge members and adjustable betweenfully extended and stacked positions, the improvement comprising: eachsaid panel having its longitudinal edge sections bent to form a pair ofchannels, said channels extending from the panel''s main plane inopposite directions, each such channel having an end portion,substantially transverse to the panel main plane, and bent-back portionforming a channel mouth with the panel''s main plane; each said hingemember engaging one pair of adjacent opposed channels of one pair ofadjacent panels, said hinge member comprising, when viewed in crosssection in the stacked position, a web section, positioned transverselyrelative to said pair of panels and externally of the channel endportions, said web section extending across and past the channel endportions, a pair of lip sections integral with the side edge portions ofthe web section, each lip section comprising an outer leg, extendingsubstantially perpendicularly from the web section, and an inner leg,extending across the adjacent bent-back portion of the channel andproximate the channel mouth, and an enlarged head joined to and integralwith said inner leg through said channel mouth the bead being retainedin the channel; said web section and legs being sufficiently flexibleand of substantially uniform thickness, whereby, when the panels arepulled to the fully extended position, the legs turn with the adjacentpanels and the web section bends along its longitudinal centerline; saidweb section being of sufficient width and rigidity whereby each pair ofadjacent panels are thereby maintained in spaced apart relation in thestacked position.
 3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said hingemembers are formed of polyvinyl chloride.
 4. The improvement of claim 2,wherein said hinge members are formed of polyvinyl chloride.
 5. Theimprovement of claim 2, wherein said bead member is shaped, having outersurfaces conforming to the portions of the panel forming said channelsand said bead member substantially fills said channel.